Comparing Hotels
I want to make special mention of our hotel stay, because it was a great experience for us even though the Hyatt is the "official" hotel of the Hell City show. Both hotels are very conveniently located on either side of the convention center, where the show takes place. You don't even have to go outside to get from either hotel to the convention center as they are both connected.
If you stay at the Hyatt, you do get a more upscale room with spa-grade soaps and shampoos to use. You also get an official "Hell City" room key that you can keep after your stay. If you decide to dine in the bar or the cafe, you can have your purchases charged to your room, as they are both part of the Hyatt. But you also have to pay more for your room, ten dollars extra per day for internet usage, more for parking, and if you forget your toothbrush - you can buy one at the hotel store, along with other personal items. Breakfast is also on you, as you have the cafe and various convention eateries to choose from.
The accommodations at the Drury Inn were a little more humble. The furnishings were more homey, the soaps were basic and there was no special room key souvenir. But the room was bigger and less expensive from the get-go. Then they charge less for parking, provide free internet usage, and have a wonderful hot breakfast bar every morning, free of charge. They also have a manager's reception each afternoon where you get free snacks and free drinks including beer, wine and cocktails. The bed was extremely comfy and the staff was friendly and helpful.
Needless to say, my husband and I will be staying at the Drury Inn from now on when we attend the Hell City Tattoo Festival in Columbus. I already have my souvenir room key from last year and I don't need another one. (grin)
Enter the Gates of Hell
On Friday morning at 11 a.m., the gates of hell officially opened up for the general public. I was there at 10:45 and the line of people waiting to get in was already clear around into the next room. I picked up our passes and a program guide. The program is an invaluable tool throughout the weekend, outlining everything happening and the location of every artist booth so you don't miss anything.
Once we got inside, it was set up pretty much like the previous year, but some of the artists we had met last time had been moved to a different location. The main floor consisted of eight rows of booth after booth, with another row on the second floor balcony. They even had a bit of an "overflow" of artists' booths in the entrance hall, which typically services only product vendors. There's lots of great stuff for sale in the entrance halls on both the second and third floors, including the Heck City booth where the little ones can get their faces painted or choose from hundreds of awesome temporary tattoos.
Tattoo Competitions
One of the most popular events of any convention like this is the tattoo competitions. Hell City does a few different categories each day, and I was really amazed to see just how many people were standing in line to sign up for each one. Some of the lines, particularly on Saturday, were so long that they filled up an entire row. It was crowded and crazy, but it was a great opportunity to get a good look at some really awesome art and talk with the people there, seeing as they weren't going anywhere anytime soon!
Every day, the tattoo competition that was the highlight of the day for me was "Tattoo of the Day." That's a competition for someone who had just gotten a tattoo there at the convention that day. Seeing all that fresh ink up there, slung by some of the best artists in the country, was breathtaking.
Amazing Art, Amazing Artists
It wasn't a huge surprise that the largest percentage of tattoo competition trophies were snatched up by Jess Yen, owner of My Tattoo in Alhambra (east of L.A.), California. Jess Yen is a phenomenal - let me repeat that.... PHENOMENAL - tattoo artist, and I don't use that term lightly. Add to that, the entire crew of My Tattoo is friendly and shares the passion of tattoo combined with intense discipline. I really enjoyed chatting with Milton, who also happened to be wearing one of the amazing black and gray works that won Jess a trophy that weekend.
But Jess Yen wasn't the only gifted artist there. Among my personal favorites were Todo, Shagoo, Krooked Ken, Monte, Joe Capobianco, and Anthony DuBois, to mention only a few. Every booth boasted some of the most amazing artists around and it's really a thrill to watch them work and create a masterpiece on skin.
Art Fusion Experiment and Innerspace
The A.F.E. is still alive and well at Hell City, and it was just as intriguing to watch each set of artists work together to create one fluid piece of art. I think one of the best examples I saw over the weekend of how the A.F.E. can take on a life of its own when it switches from one artist to the other was on Sunday - a female figure started by the first artist ended up being an owl when the drawing was finished. One of the things I enjoyed about the A.F.E. sessions this year was that they opened up a few spaces for the general public, so anyone with artistic ability could join in on the fun instead of just attending artists.
